Most fruits include one or more seeds, a berry that surrounds the one or more seeds, and a peel or rind that covers the berry. For example, a lemon and other citrus fruits, such as an orange and a lime, include a plurality of seeds surrounded by juice filled hairs that make-up the berry, and a peel that covers the juice filled hairs or berry. The peel of a citrus fruit includes an outermost layer—the flavedo—and a layer between the flavedo and the berry—the pith. The flavedo is shinny, brightly colored, textured and rich in the fruit's volatile oil, also known as the fruit's zest. The pith is a white, fibrous membrane that helps protect the berry that it surrounds. Because citrus fruits are flavorful, the berry's juice and the flavedo's volatile oil, or zest, are often used to enhance and/or modify a food's flavor.
The volatile oil or zest is particularly popular because it is extremely flavorful, and thus can be used to flavor a food without adding much liquid to the food. Because the pith is fibrous and not that flavorful relative to the zest, most cooks carefully remove a fruit's flavedo from the fruit's pith when extracting the zest from a fruit. Frequently, the process of extracting a fruit's zest from the fruit includes delicately rubbing the fruit's flavedo against a fine grater. Often this is done by grasping the fruit in one hand, holding the grater against a cutting board or the inside of a bowl with the other hand, and then scrapping the flavedo against the grater.
Unfortunately, this process has several drawbacks. It requires careful attention and a deft touch to make sure that none of the fruit's pith is extracted with the flavedo as the fruit's peel is scrapped against the grater. In a busy kitchen, a skilled cook has limited time to carefully extract the fruit's zest using this process. In addition, the process of gathering the zest in this manner is considered one of least desirable jobs in the kitchen. If rushed, a cook might extract some of the pith with the flavedo, which can adversely affect the texture of the food that will receive the zest, or the cook might scrape his knuckles or finger tips against the grater, which can adversely affect the taste and/or hygiene of the food.